LFL Semi-final 1: Vedic Naturals vs Flamin Starz

Brief Scores

Vedic Naturals:                                     6 / 171 in 20 overs

                                                            Cristy 49 (29)

                                                            Kuldeep 33* (36)

                                                            Nitin 26 (9)

                                                            PK 1/14 (4)

                                                            Anjeev 2/32 (4)

                                                                                                                                               

Flamin Starz:                                        4 / 175 in 17.1 overs

                                                            Anjeev 53 (36)

                                                            Dinesh 35 (30)                                                 

                                                            Jaideep 32* (9)

                                                            NP Singh 2/24 (4)

                                                                                               

Man of the Match:                                 Anjeev (Flamin Starz)

Best Performer:                                    Cristy Joshi (Vedic Naturals)

Complete Scorecard:                            http://bit.ly/14oLPui

Flamin Starz Come Out Top in Intense Heavyweight Tussle

Watching the intensity in this battle of batting heavyweights, you could tell just how important this was for both sides. If there was any question about whether the Vedic batsmen would bring their ‘A’ game, Cristy and Nitin delivered an emphatic answer in the first few minutes of the match, producing one of the most destructive starts of the tournament. To their credit, Flamin Starz did not get blown away. The seamers stuck to their guns, PK and Rajnish cut the runs down to a trickle, and finally, after 3 hours of constantly fluctuating momentum, Team Flamin’s own hard-hitting batsmen stamped their worth once again on way to a record run chase.

Cristy and Nitin Destroy Flamin Seamers

Flamin might have been delighted when Binoo was out first ball of the match, caught by Jaideep at mid on off the bowling of captain Gurdeep. The fielding side, however, were not given so much as one ball to establish their advantage. Nitin, carrying in his form from the previous game, flicked Gurdeep for four first ball, and three balls later Vedic Naturals captain Cristy crashed a drive over extra cover. Over the next twenty minutes, the straight-hitting batting machine that is Cristy and the whip-like swing of Nitin’s arms (for a brief time) belted the white ball everywhere with almost embarrassing ease.

Cristy played a destructive knock of 49 from 29 balls

Hoshiyar’s steady, gentle medium pace was torn apart by Nitin in the 2^nd. Two sixes, first straight then a flick, were punctuated by two whipping cuts past point. Anjeev, used to flummoxing batsmen at this level with his subtle swing and seam both ways, was dismissed for a boundary and two sixes, once again straight and a flick, this time by Cristy. Medium pacer Jaideep, the 4^th bowler in 4 overs, finally struck, with Nitin caught first ball of his spell. The mistimed shot sailed straight up very high, and PK judged the catch to perfection at mid off. Cristy careened a boundary off his legs in the eventful over, and in between two wayward wide balls that beat the keepers’ gloves to the fence, he was dropped as mid off and extra cover collided trying to grasp a teasing skier that fell between them. The skipper made them pay, and after 6 overs, Vedic Naturals reached a terrifying 90 / 2.

Twin Spin Force of Rajnish and PK Engineer Comeback

Anjeev, however, had settled into his canny groove, and his teasing medium pace finally accounted for Cristy in the 7^th with a ball that moved just enough off the seam to beat the straight bat and take out off stump. Cristy’s belligerent 49 had come off only 29 balls, and as Flamin saw his back, they were greeted by Devraj, the highest run-getter of the tournament. As expected, Gurdeep threw the ball to his trump card, leg-spinner PK, for the next over.

This contest of best batsman vs best bowler was the one we had been waiting for, and with the innings tantalizingly poised, one sensed that the outcome of this battle would swing the game. PK took just three balls to come out winner and wrest the initiative for his team. Devraj played a good length wicket-to-wicket ball for turn, only to see it skid straight on and thud into his pads. Plumb – a classic PK dismissal. Anjeev accounted for NP Singh next over, and although the Vedic Naturals batting card read an imposing 101/5 at the midway mark, Kuldeep and Deepak went into the next half looking to consolidate.

PK and left-arm spinner Rajnish did what they do best – block out the scoring shots and limit the batsmen to singles. When Deepak luckily found the gap with a streaky uppish cut between gully  and point in the 14^th, it was the first boundary in 7 overs. Vedic Naturals, tied down by first seamer Anjeev and then the twin spin force, had got 29 in a period of 8 overs. The pressure finally accounted for Deepak as he was caught at point off Himanshu’s first ball in the 15^th. At 119 / 6, the advantage of the early onslaught had whittled away.

Rashid and Kuldeep Consolidate, Vedic Recover

Rashid joined Kuldeep, and with the spinners now out of the attack, the two managed to lift the momentum somewhat. However, the mental pressure of 6 wickets down coupled with tight seam bowling from Himanshu kept them down to singles and the occasional boundary. They both managed to clear the fence once each in the last over bowled by Jaideep – a tactical error by Flamin captain Gurdeep – to propel the innings to 171. Although this was a highly competitive target and would require the tournament’s highest successful run chase, after the start Vedic had got, Flamin Starz were easily the happier of the two sides.

  

Dinesh and Anjeev Give Flamin Starz Solid Start

Anjeev was the MoM for his fifty and 2 wickets

Where Vedic Naturals had sought to intimidate their opposition with no-holds-barred destructive hitting, Flamin Starz openers Dinesh and Anjeev set out to seal the game with solid batting and tempered aggression. Dinesh, limited in his technique, is happy to nudge the ball around and wait for opportunities to swing off the front foot. Anjeev, on the other hand, is one of the most eye-pleasing batsman in this tournament with his decisive footwork and elegant strokemaking.

The start was as positive as they come, with Anjeev dispatching Arun for four past point, before launching a full toss for six over square leg off a flowing pull shot. Kuldeep, with his propensity to bowl short and wide, gave Dinesh ample width in the 2^nd, conceding 3 boundaries off cut shots between point and thirdman. Playing at his fluid best today, Anjeev stepped out and lifted Arun for an effortless six over cover in the 5^th over, and then welcomed seamer Rashid in the 8^th with consecutive boundaries and a stunning sweep that sailed into the parking lot.

NP Singh Sparks Fight Back, Match in Balance

Vedic Naturals finally dismissed Anjeev for 53 against the run of play at the stroke of the 10^th over, as Arun completed an excellent high catch running back from mid on. At 86 / 1, Flamin Starz had got exactly half the runs at the halfway mark, and with the batting still to come, they looked firmly in command. Exactly an over later, however, NP Singh picked up the wicket of a tiring Dinesh off another excellent catch, this time by Kuldeep at long off. This came right after the batsman had spanked the off-spinner for a big six over the sightscreen to move up to 35.

Although the two openers had done their job, the two fielding efforts in 6 balls showed that Vedic Naturals were not about to concede this without a fight. NP struck again off the first ball of his next, picking Naveen up LBW off an attempt to play across the line. Somehow the off-spinner had engineered a rapid and unlikely comeback for his side, and Rajnish and Vivek came together needing to consolidate. The former, though, was clean bowled by Nitin in the 15^th. With 57 needed off 35, Vedic Naturals were firmly back in contention, and the match now hung in the balance.

Jaideep Seals the Win

In retrospect, Vedic Naturals would rather not have dismissed Rajnish when they did, because that only served to bring Jaideep to the middle, and the big hitting batsman, supported ably by Vivek, made a mockery of the pressure. Charan was the first to come under fire. He conceded 19 in the 16^th over, including two big sixes – first over midwicket by Vivek then straight by Jaideep – on either side of 4 costly byes. But that was just the prelude to the mayhem that followed in the 17^th over.

Lively medium pacer Kapil sent down just the quick pace and loose lengths Vivek and JD needed to clear the ropes. Vivek began with a straight six and a cut for four, before passing the strike to his partner, who dismissed the bowler for 3 successive sixes that sent Vedic Naturals crashing out of the tournament in sensational fashion. The first was a straight six off a full delivery. The bowler over-compensated, going too short next ball, and was pulled over square leg. Then again too full, and this time JD swung him over midwicket. 29 came off the over, and the two put together 60 off 18 balls to seal the game with 3 overs to spare. Ironically, one of the biggest hitting teams of the season had got knocked out by the kind of belting they typically dish out.

Anjeev was the Man of the Match for his all-round effort, capping a strong team performance. Vedic Naturals, though beaten on the day, had shown real fight and spirit to complete another memorable tournament. Captain Cristy was awarded as their best performer for the match.